G7 Raise Flight 752, Human Rights Abuses in Statement on Iran

Iranwire – The G7 group of countries has issued a wide-ranging communique on Iran at the end of a three-day summit in the Bavarian Alps in Germany. Amongst other things it touched on hostage-taking by the Islamic Republic and the Flight 752 disaster.

The joint statement from leaders of the G7, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States, reiterated its commitment to the Islamic Republic never being able to develop a nuclear weapon and called on Tehran to cooperate with the IAEA.

It added: “We strongly condemn Iran’s continued destabilising activity in the region. We call upon Iran to stop all ballistic missile activities and proliferation… Iran’s threats to maritime security further impair regional stability.”

The statement also called on the Iranian government to contribute “actively and constructively” to efforts to build peace and security in the Middle East.

The G7 group then expressed “profound concern” over and condemnation of human rights violations in Iran, “including Iran’s increased use of capital punishment. We call on Iran to end arbitrary arrest and detention of foreign and dual nationals for the purposes of political leverage. “

Finally, it said: “We continue to support international efforts to hold Iran to account for the unlawful shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752.”

Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752, a passenger plane carrying 176 civilians including the crew, was shot down over Tehran by two missiles fired by the Revolutionary Guards on January 8, 2020.

Among the dead were a large number of Iranian students and émigrés who had come home for the Christmas holidays. In total 55 of the passengers held Canadian citizenship and 30 were permanent residents. There were also three British and three German citizens onboard.

On June 21, Hamid Esmaeilion, a spokesman for the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims, gave a speech to a Canadian parliamentary subcommittee in which he castigated the government for its level of engagement on the Flight 752 case and the rights situation in Iran.

“Insofar as the Iranian government is concerned,” he said, “it has succeeded in not being held to account.”